Jordyn Tyson‘s latest bout of hamstring trouble will lead the top-10 pick to IR. While that move headlines New Orleans’ odyssey down to 53 — along with some early cuts made Saturday — here are the other transactions required for the NFC South team to reach the regular-season limit:
Released:
Waived:
TE Cody Hardy
T Alan Herron
T Easton Kitty
G Toricelli Simpkins
DL Jay’viar Suggs
T Alex Wollschlaeger
Placed on IR:
CB Dalys Beanum
EDGE Mike Heldman
T Barry Wesley
Placed on IR (return designation):
Placed on reserve/PUP list:
Placed on reserve/suspended list:
Whereas Ford and Tyson will be eligible to returns to practice by Week 5 (and Tipton by Week 3, thanks to an offseason rule change), the five players New Orleans placed on IR without a return designation are out for the season. This includes Neal, a 2025 sixth-round pick who gained 206 rushing yards and scored twice for a Saints team again missing Alvin Kamara for a sizable chunk of the season. Kamara remains on the team, and the Saints gave Travis Etienne a $12MM-per-year deal to beef up their run game.
Suffering injuries to both hamstrings last season at Arizona State, Tyson nevertheless commanded major attention during a truncated pre-draft process. The former Pac-12 and Big 12 pass catcher wowed at a mid-April workout and ended up going eighth overall to the Saints. Tyson was having a strong training camp before suffering another hamstring setback. He is expected to miss regular-season time, and given what the Saints have invested here, it is unsurprising they will shelve him for at least four games.
The White release is interesting considering the ex-Raider came over in a recent trade from the 49ers, who acquired Deion Jones in the swap of recently signed free agents. White can pass straight to the Saints’ practice squad as a vested veteran. So can Yiadom, though this represents a step back for the resurgent cornerback.
Yiadom, 30, started eight Saints games in 2023 and has played in 48 games — split between New Orleans and San Francisco — over the past three years. Quincy Riley and free agency addition Martin Emerson are positioned as the top Kool-Aid McKinstry complements at the position.
Many of these players will land on the Saints’ 16-man practice squad. One the Saints will aim to keep: Smyth (per NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill). He will give the Saints an odd three-kicker arrangement, as the team still rosters Daniel Carlson and Tanner Brown on its 53-man roster. That setup will not last, and it would seem Smythe will back up whoever the Saints go with in Week 1.